Konoha's Blossom
by blondehairedbabe
Summary: After Sasuke left the village, Sakura devoted her time to developing and bettering herself. Now a couple years later, she's one of the world's best medic's and a force to be reckoned with. What happens when the ones she cares about are in danger? Will annihilation of the treath be the end or is there something much more to it. ShikaSaku,NejiTen and others. Rated T just for safety.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone. Sooo, this is my first story ever published so please don't be mean. Also English is not my first language so if you see any mistakes, let me know. Okay, about the story: They are 18/19 here. I won't make anyone weak and that shit. Especially someone like TenTen who in my opinion had very little character development. Also I don't think I will be killing of anyone. I can promise that Neji will stay alive. His future was already been taken from him, so I ain't gonna do that again. This story will contain death, just not of main characters (hopefully) and I'll try to make it as easy on heart as possible. All deaths in Naruto left me depressed so in my opinion there is no need for that here(at least in this story). Of course I can't guarantee anything, I'm just letting you know what you could expect. If you are looking for angst, this story is not for you. No mean and offensive comments and no bashing. Suggestions and that stuff is always welcome, as long as it doesn't offend anyone. Okaay, that's all for now. Hope you like it!_

 _P.S. As you might have guessed, I do not own Naruto, unfortunately._

 _~x~_

She should be used to this. She is a medical ninja. Death is something she faces more than many people, unfortunately. But death is something you can never get used to, especially not in times like this.

On the operating table before her lays ANBU captain and her close friend Neji Hyuuga. He has his body covered with bruises and deep cuts, but that is left for other medics to deal with. What makes her stomach turn with worry is the fact that he was stabbed in one vital point and really close to another. She is a medic. She activated her Yin seal at age of 17 and had a year after that to work on her skills. Many say she has surpassed her master, which she doubts but can't deny that she is one of the best medical ninjas in all Five Shinobi Nations.

And still she can only hope that she can save him. His heart rate is slow. So slow you could literally miss it of you don't pay extremely close attention. She can only do one thing at this point. Try out new technique that she has been trying to develop in the last 6 months as a privilege of her seal. She has her Byakugou activated as she is pouring abnormal amount of chakra into him. Her ultimate goal is to pour enough chakra into him that she has control over it while it's in his system as well. The problem is time.

He is chakra deprived so she first needs to fill his reserves and than more so he has spear chakra to manipulate. And bear in mind he is chakra powerhouse. If it was a genin or a civilian with small amount of chakra she probably wouldn't even need her Byakugou. She never used this technique. Only in theory it could be done. She did manage to do it on smaller animals but she remembers all too well that she needed 2 months after healing fish to be able to preform simple healing on human body. But she didn't have time. Not to practice and surely she didn't have any now.

His heartbeat was becoming weaker by the minute. On the good side she filed his reserves and now she is pouring manipulating chakra into him. It's the same principle as the Ninja God, Hashirama, used as well as Naruto. They have large amount chakra at their disposal and they can manipulate it without waving signs. She is trying to do the same for Neji. Only difference, she will manipulate that chakra for him. Well, try. That's what she is trying to do now. Successfully manipulating chakra from his reserves while still pouring some into him, she can see the two wounds closing. All other medics are done and they all are watching, sending silent prayers that he survives. Sakura's eyes widen as she sees the wounds closing. It's working. Her technique is working. As the wounds close one medic's rushes to his side to check him.

Sakura only stops pouring chakra when she hears words that medic spoke: "He's stable".

Silent tear of joy and relief slips down her pale cheek as she collapses to her knees holding hands over her chest. More tears come down as she lets all emotions settle in. He is okay, he will survive. After she composes herself she notices other medics in the room are clapping. She smiled as she started to wipe her tears and slowly stand up, afraid her legs would give up on her.

"You did it Haruno-san!"

"Your technique worked!"

"Tsunade-sama is going to be so proud"

At the mention of her master's name she remembers that she went to heal others who were injured and that all her friends are probably waiting outside. In an instant she rushes out of operating room. As she exits all her friends stood up. Hinata gasped as she put hands over her mouth, tears pouring out of her eyes. Kiba has one of his hands around Hinta's shoulder and you can see that he slightly squeezes her as his eyes widen in shock. Lee, Ten Ten, Ino and Naruto have same expression as Kiba. Choji and Sai, whose hand is in cast because he, as well as Shikamaru, was on the same team as Neji, are silent. Shikamaru is standing there, hard expression on his face but you can see hurt and concern in his eyes.

His and Sai's clothes were bloody but no wounds visible. Tsunade-sama did the excellent job healing them. They had also been hurt badly when they were brought in. Sakura only than realised why they are looking at her like that. She has blood all over her clothes, her eyes probably read and puffy from crying. Sakura was about to speak when she was interrupted by her master who was approaching fast, Shizune, hot on her tail.

"Sakura?" was all that she said, but her voice was stern and Sakura understood that meant 'don't beat around the bush whatever the outcome is'.

Sakura smiled weakly "He is stable. He will survive."

Hinata started crying harder, tears of relief now flowing down her cheek as she snuggled her head in Kiba's chest while he patted her back. "Thank goodness" came from Ino as she hugged Sai while he put his head in the crock of her neck, relief visible on his face. The rest of them sat down, some sighing in relief, some putting their hands over their heats.

"How?" Shikamaru asked, it came almost as a whisper as his eyes were widened in shock "He had two fatal wounds, he was chakra deprived. He could not have survived those wounds". Sakura opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted once again by Tsunade who was smirking:" Sakura has been working on modifying 100 Healing seal so that she can transfer its effects to her patients by pouring huge amount of her chakra into them and than manipulating it so the wound heals itself, for the past few months" She averted her gaze to Sakura "but I didn't think it would be possible, especially not in the short amount of time she has been working on it. Congratulations Sakura."

Everyone looked at Sakura who was blushing slightly. "Thank you shishou"

She smiled sweetly when she heard running footsteps and felt someone hugging her stomach. She looked down only to see Hanabi hugging her, her eyes same as Hinatas. She looked up and saw Hiashi standing in front of her with soft expression on his face. Sakura didn't even notice them being here. "

Thank you, thank you, thank you" Hanabi said between sobs. Sakura looked down again and gently patted Hanabi's head.

"That's why I'm here for" She smiled as Hanabi raised her head to look at her, her face puffy from crying. After she moved away Hiashi moved closer and hugged Sakura, much to everyone's surprise.

"Thank you Sakura-san. We will never be able to thank you enough. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask". He moved away and nodded at her.

"Thank you" Sakura answered, courtly nodding in return. "Sakura-chan you are so awesome!" Naruto yelled in very 'Naruto' way. Sakura chuckled.

"Thanks Naruto" He shoot her his best grin.

"Really forehead, that technique is amazing, why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Sorry Ino, but I didn't think it would be possible so I didn't want to speak about it until I was certain it could work"

"Of course it worked, it was your idea my youthful cherry blossom. It's true springtime of youth for you" Lee cut in as he put up his thumb and smiled so his teeth were visible.

Sakura just smiled.

"So when will we be able to see him" Ten Ten asked, worry still present in her eyes. She and Neji have been dating for 2 years so Sakura could only imagine how frustrated and scared she was.

"Well he is still unconscious, but I don't think it would be that long until he wakes up. I have refilled his chakra reserves and all his wounds have been healed. Maybe there are few small cuts left but they will heal in a week tops. You should be able to see him tomorrow. I'm just gonna get cleaned up and than I will check on him. I will notify you as soon as he wakes up."Sakura sent Ten Ten reassuring smile.

Hinata silently approached her and hugged her, quietly whispering "Thank you so much Sakura" like she was afraid her own voice would let her down. Sakura just hugged her tightly, saying everything will be alright.

"Okay, now that we know he will be alright, everyone go home and rest." Tsunade-sama ordered.

"But Baa-chan, we don't want to leave in case he wakes up earlier" Naruto whined.

"You will only be in way Naruto, Sakura will notify you. Now I want everyone out in 2 minutes. Sakura and everyone has a lot of work to do." With that she turned around followed by Shizune who congratulated Sakura before catching up with Tsunade-sama.

"Okay, then we'll be leaving you to do your magic, Forehead. Don't forget to call us immediately when he wakes up" Ino almost scolded Sakura.

"Don't worry, it'll will be the first thing I do, Pig" Sakura smiled and everyone started to leave, with Hyuuga's thanking her ones more.

When they all left Sakura fell onto one of the chairs, finally able to catch her breath. She was really exhausted. She used up all her chakra, plus she had to use it from her reserves as well. It's going to take some time until it refills.

"You look like hell" Sakura jumped slightly, she didn't know anyone was still there.

"I can say the same thing about you, Shikamaru" she said with a small giggle. He just smirked as he took seat next to her.

"I thought everyone left. Do you need your wounds checked up or something?" she looked at him questionably.

"I'm good, I wanted to check on you. By the way Tsunade- sama was shocked with the success of technique it's easy to see that you invented an S level technique. Those usually come with side affects, especially if you use them for the first time." he looked at her with concerned eyes. "So, how are you holding up?"

Sakura couldn't help but admire his intuition. No one else thought about it. Not that she blames them, their best friend almost died. She probably wouldn't even thought about it if the roles were reversed.

"I'm fine, just feeling exhausted. It took a lot of chakra to heal him, but that doesn't matter." Sakura just smiled. It couldn't be described how relived she was that he survived. They are best friends, almost like brother and sister. Ever since she became Tsunade's student the Hyuuga elders have invited her to dinners multiple times. She only managed to attend few times since she has been too busy in the hospital. But that brought Sakura, Neji and Hinata much closer.

She looked at Shikamaru only to see him looking at her with his calculating eyes.

"You are more tired than you let on, aren't you?"

"Shikamaru, I'm fine. Really. Go home and rest. And I need to go and take shower. I have more patients waiting." Sakura smiled sweetly. Shikamaru gave her lazy smile.

"Fine, but be careful. You still don't know side affects"

With that he got up and headed towards the door. Sakura just looked after him. With a sigh she stood up slowly, her legs slightly shaking. Her overworking is taking its toll on her.

She walked down the hall, made few turns, walked into her office and took her spare clothes that she always has with her. After picking everything up she continued her journey to bathroom. Once cold water touched her body, she saw blood dripping from her hands. This event shook her to her core. It brought back some rather unpleasant memories. How Shikamaru felt thorn when Asuma died. How she was shattered when her parents died after Orochimaru attacked village during chuning exams. If it wasn't for Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Ino, Tsunade-sama and her other friends, who knows what would have happened to her.

When Sasuke left her, her heart had mixture of hate and love. She still loved him but couldn't forgive him for leaving with the monster who was responsible for death of her parents and many others. She couldn't stand the thought. That along with possibility that they could attack again made her sick. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to fight Sasuke. Not really and that would result in her death. It was reason for her to become medical ninja. If she couldn't fight to protect she would aid those who could. But as time passed she slowly started to understand why he did it. She also wanted to kill Sannin. She trained day and night because of it. As for Sasuke, his whole clan was killed by the person he admired the most.

Later he killed Orochimaru for her and after learning the truth about the Uchiha massacre Sasuke came back. She welcomed him back, but only as friend. Betrayal she felt when she was 13 was too big for her and she couldn't see him as anything more. He left to atone short after but they stayed in touch. He usually informs them about the Akatsuki movements. It has been over a year since they started collecting Bijuus. According to him they have collected 6. Although they are missing 2 tails, so they can't extract the rest. He is currently tracking her to try and hide her, maybe bring her to Konoha. Thanks to this news, Naruto was sent to learn how to control Kyuubi's chakra with Killer Bee, Jinjuricki of 8 tails. When Naruto came back almost 4 moths ago, he has become unbelievable powerful. He has also become really close with the Sand siblings, as did she. After saving Kankuro and Gaara, the Sand has become closest ally of Konoha.

What she finds really interesting is that Temari and Naruto became close. Like closer than friends. Despite their totally different personalities. Sakura connects their 'friendship' as they call it with the fact that Naruto saved Gaara. That probably helped Temari see him as more than a knucklehead. And Sakura is happy because of that. Naruto found someone who will keep him on the ground when he has his outburst. They make a good team, in every way possible.

With those thoughts she finished showering and put on fresh clothes. Shower was supposed to help her wake up but in some strange way she only felt sleepier. She made her way to her office once more to leave her dirty clothes that she will probably bring home tomorrow after she is done with hospital. It was much harder to walk than she would like it to be. After leaving her clothes she proceeded to make slow movements towards room Neji was in now. She had to help herself by holding onto the wall. She was never this tired. She felt as if all energy was sucked from her. It's probably side affect of her new healing method. As an answer to her question she started seeing black dots. She tripped over herself and with last of her strength she braced herself for the fall but it never came. Last thing she felt was something soft and warm wrap around her before it all went black.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks to the reviews, I payed closer attention to my grammar and spelling. I also divided paragraphs better. I hope it's better now. Thank you for reading. xx_


	2. Chapter 2

_First of all, I'm so so sorry about the previous version of this chapter. The codes didn't show on my computer when I was uploading it. Thank you for letting me know about the problem as well as my grammar and spelling mistakes. I was in a hurry to upload since I was 2 days behind. I will pay more attention to it from now on._

 _As for this fic, I want to tell you a bit more about the parings. I like to experiment. I would like to see, for example, how will relationship between Sasuke and someone like Hinata or Ino develop. Or Naruto and Temari. In this, NaruTema is the ship but for Sasuke I might make some new character. That is still to be decided. I don't like to write canon ships that are often present like NaruHina or even SasuSaku to some extent. SaiIno I like to write as there is a lot of possibilities._

 _That's about it. Thank you again for feedback. And one more thing. If you think this is trash, all you have to do is exit this story and never look at it again. Thank you very much._

 _I hope you enjoy. Kisses_

 _P.S. I do not own Naruto._

~x~

Sakura woke up in a room she knows all to well and position she was unfortunately very familiar with as well. She was laying in a hospital bed, trying to recall last moments before she blacked out. She didn't remember falling.

She pushed herself in a sitting position, almost getting heart attack when she saw two figures next to her. One sitting in a chair and the other on the window. She didn't have to wait for her eyes to focus because she could recognize them anywhere, anytime.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice still rasp from sleeping.

"I decided to wait and see if you are really alright. It seems it was right call." The man on the chair said with his signature smirk.

"And I happened to be in Tsunade- sama's office when Shizune rushed in to inform that you collapsed in hospital" Grey haired ninja informed Sakura.

"You told shishou? There was no need for that. Even the medic in training was able to see that it was just exhaustion". Like really. She just needed sleep.

"Yeah but what medic in training wouldn't be able to notice was something that might be much more serious. That was why Tsunade-sama came."

Sakura just signed. She was about to get earful. Maybe she'll have to avoid few bottles of sake thrown her way.

"I'm going to inform Tsunade-sama that you are awake" as her former sensei got up and headed to the door, Sakura remembered something.

"I need to check up on Neji!" She jumped of the bed, which she had to hold onto since her legs were bound to let her down. Literally.

Shikamaru jumped from his chair and grabbed her, his hands going around her waist.

"Hold your horses. He is alright. He has been awake for a day now and according to Tsunade-sama he will be able to leave hospital in 2 days since his injuries are healed and his chakra reserves are full. He's only staying for observation."

Sakura stared at him dub-folded. " If he has been awake for a day now, how long was I out?"

"For a day or so. When I took you to the nurses after you collapsed, Tsunade-sama examined you. You were chakra deprived. Your chakra, apart from your seal, basically didn't exist. If you didn't have your seal you would have been dead long ago. So it took time for you to refill your reserves" He said while he gently placed her on the bed. Kakashi was long gone.

"So basically what you want to say is that it's a good thing you decided to be creep and stalk me form shadows because you caught me before I probably got concussion and damage my already too weak body?"

Sakura couldn't help but mock him. Their relationship was like that. They would constantly mock each other. At first everyone was shocked and didn't know how to respond when Shikamaru and Sakura start putting each other down or mocking, but on a more intellectual level. Naruto would usually interject when Shikamaru said something that many would find offending. But Sakura didn't. She was kind of used to it since she spent a lot of time with Shikamaru as she was Tsunade's student and he was usually hanging around the tower because of his incredible ability to figure out almost impossible situations. It took some time but nobody pays any attention to Shikamaru and Sakura when they start their rounds. They are completely ignored. Many found it amusing how Shimakaru was acting as everything was always troublesome or drag to him. Especially arguing, well except with Sakura.

Shikamaru just smirked in response as the door burst open and angry footsteps came barging into the room. Shikamaru simply took few steps back and looked at her with eyes that were telling her 'you are so screwed' in a mocking way. Sakura held in a sigh. Here we go.

"Sakura Haruno" The blond Hokage was towering over her, being intimidating as ever. "Once you are rested you are to leave hospital and don't step near it for at least 5 days unless I'm the one who calls you in" Tsunade-sama said with voice that made no place for argument.

But Sakura was too shocked to care: "Shishou, what if there is an emergency and what am I supposed to do for 5 days? I'm fine. I just need few more hours, a day tops. I'll be like new I promise" Sakura basically pleaded. Kakashi who was standing behind Tsunade just shoot a glare towards Sakura. She wasn't fooling anyone. For a ninja to collapse because of deprivation, whatever the type, never passes after a day of sleep. Everyone in the room knew that.

"Sakura, that's final. You can visit Neji but that's all. If there's an emergency I will call you. This discussion is over" with that Tsunade left Sakura with her two comrades. Sakura signed in defeat. What was she supposed to do for 5 days. She was able to combine training and hospital in her day. Now she will only have training.

"She went easy on you. If it was me I would have given you at least 2 weeks. That's what I get when I overuse sharingan. I doubt yours is less serious." Kakashi said with stern, almost angry voice. But everyone knew he couldn't be angry at her. Not really. Sakura just looked at him. She didn't know what to say. She just stood up, much more confident on her legs now.

"Where are you going?" Pineapple haired ninja asked.

"To visit Neji, are you coming?"

With that the 3 of them left her room.

If someone didn't tell you he was on verge of death a day ago, you would have never guessed. Neji looked totally normal. His skin was pale but not more than usually. He was siting casually on his bed reading a book. When the 3 of them walked in he immediately jumped of bed at sight of Sakura.

" Sakura, how are you? They didn't let me leave my room to come and check on you." He took her appearance. She on the other hand looked like a zombie. Sakura just chucked.

"I'm the one who is supposed to be asking that question" She answered but when he remained silent she continued:" I'm fine, just need to rest for a few days, that's all."  
"Sakura, I own you my life" he said as he bowed. Sakura immediately waved her hand.

" Stop it. Helping people is my job. You don't own me anything" She was tired of hearing that. Not only from Hyuugas. She does understand that they are grateful, but a simple thank you and their happy faces was enough from her.

"It may be, but because you used that new technique on me, you were unconscious for over a day. Last time you were like that because of deprivation was when you healed 2 three man squads with serious injuries while you were still storing chakra." Neji stopped for a brief second " Which was 2 years ago."  
Sakura was loosing her patience.

"Look Neji, you and I both know that I sometimes…. tend to go overboard with working. It all piled up. That's it. The fact that you are standing and talking and feeling fine is enough of a thank you for me." She gave him a sincere smile.

His features softened. He really did see her as a part of his family. Many people in the village did. He was sure that she healed or examined everyone in the village at least once. Before he could reply a high pitched voice was heard not so far from Neji's room.

"I can't fucking believe her. She isn't awake for fucking 10 minutes and she is already running around the hospital." And that same high pitched voice was approaching fast. Sakura went pale. Well she would if she could. The last thing she needed right now was Ino and everyone else telling how she had to rest. Well telling would be considered as a blessing. She looked at her 3 friends hoping they will help her get out of this situation. Shikamaru only walked few steps backwards and leaned against the bed, Kakashi smiled until his eye wasn't visible and with words:"Now that you are awake Sakura, I'll leave the rest to you" disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

At least Neji tried to help telling her he might only be able to do something about Ten Ten. There was no other choice. Sakura had to face the hard future that was bond to become present in 3 2 1-

The door bursts open and before anyone even stepped in, Ino's voice could be heard " What the hell Forehead? Did you hear of a word 'rest'? It means relaxing your body and giving it time to recharge. Your mind as well. But it's to late for that one, that's obvious" Ino stepped in front of Sakura and put a hand on her hip. She started waving her other hand in front of her face as a sign of how angry and despleased she was.

"I swear to God. I will get chakra CHAINS, that Ten Ten will happily supply me with" Ten Ten just sent Sakura smile that said 'damn right I will' "and I will chain you to bed so you HAVE TO rest. Like for real, you look like an actual ghost, or more like vampire and you are doing rounds in hospital. Everyone is going to think they started hallucinating or even worst, they might get heart attack!" by the time Ino was done, she was waving both of her hands. She looked like she was desperately trying to get attention of a boat that is miles away and she has been trapped on a deserted island.

"Calm down Pig, I'm not doing rounds. I'm simply checking up on Neji as I didn't do that yesterday. And you two don't have to worry about getting chakra CHAINS" she mimicked Ino's voice as she sent a glare to Ten Ten " Tsunade-sama has expelled me from hospital for at least 5 days, so I will have more than enough time to rest" she gave Ino a small smile, which clearly screamed 'AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT'.

"Thank goodness. Now we might actually have time to catch up"

"We can go for ramen Sakura-chaaan." Naruto spoke for the first time since they arrived, to everyone's surprise.  
Sakura just giggled "I'll have plenty of free time, so why not"

"Oh yea, Hinata and Kiba are apologising for not visiting you Sakura, they have some sort of family lunch."

"I'm glad I'll be missing that one. Izunuka and Hyuuga together at one table, no thank you" Neji shuddered, showing his other rare seen personality. It mostly surfaces when he is with Ten Ten.

"Yeah, it screams disaster" Ten Ten laughed" Anyways, Lee is probably somewhere in the mountains training. I don't know where Choji and Shino are. As for Sai, he had some ANBU business to attend to"

"No worries, I'll be leaving now anyway. The more I rest now the sooner I'll be realized from hospital and the 5 days of torture can start" Sakura let out a sad sigh. " I'll see you guys around" she waved them of as she closed the door behind her and headed for her room

Her days have been more eventful than she thought they would be. She has been dispatched from hospital 2 days ago. Since then she went for a drink with Ino where she wouldn't stop talking about Sai. They are so cute. He constantly draws her when she isn't looking and takes her to dates. He is still a bit too much what they say' by the book' but he is more himself than ever. It's starting to became normal to him. As for Sakura, Ino would not stop asking her about Shikamaru. But Sakura didn't understand why Ino is implying that they are more than friends or could be more. Sure, they are really close and they do care about each other. After Asuma died Sakura spent days talking with him. Sometimes they would fall asleep, was it her couch, his parents porch, some random field. She remembers all too well how it was when her parents died. She made it through thanks to her friends. She never wants for someone to go through that alone. Shikamaru is more closed off type of person. He keeps it all to himself. That's why Sakura took it upon herself to help him. To talk to him however long he wanted. She is medical ninja and as one she knows that emotional wounds are the hardest to heal. Some never do. And that's not what she wanted for him. But they are friends. That's all.

After girls talk with Ino she went for ramen with Naruto. That's where she let out all her stream out. She was pissed because of Ino, so she constantly asked Naruto about Temari. It was so cute and funny when he got all embarrassed. She learned that sometimes, when he's coming back from missions, he makes detour and visits Sand. To check up on Gaara, was his excuse. Of course Sakura didn't buy it and after some pushing he admitted that he was going to see Temari. She was so happy for him.

When she was not training or catching up with someone, she was home studying and trying to figure out problem with her new technique. It was very helpful, especially on the battlefield. But if she, as a medic on the team, passes out, that would pose a big problem. The solution that she came up with was to create new seal. It wouldn't slow her as much, as she mastered how to manipulate flow of chakra to her seal. If she is preforming serious surgery or fighting she would reduce it so only drops of chakra would go to seal where as when she is sleeping almost all of her chakra would flow into it. The problem is, she didn't know if it was possible. She has Yin seal and she didn't know if she could create another one, or some sort of it. But since yin relates to spiritual energy and yang breathes in life into form, her Byakuou seal uses Yin-Yang release to repair damaged parts of her body. If she could store chakra into Yang seal, she can use that chakra in case of emergencies. It would bring life to dead cells and repair them. That was the only solution she came up with. But it's a long shot.

Sakura is currently making her way to the academy. She didn't see Iruka- sensei in a really long time. Shikamaru also agreed to go with her. When he became ANBU strategist, his free time was decreased almost tenfold. He couldn't watch clouds all day and occasionally go on a missions. He had to be in ANBU HD everyday and go through a lot of missions to find the best way to infiltrate and stuff like that. They were walking in comfortable silence.

Once they are in front of academy, Shikamaru broke the silence, his eyes focused on the tall building in front of them: "It feels like it's been ages."

"It does. Everything was so simple back than."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru, knowing he will understand what she meant. The look he gave her showed her she was right. It was a soft look, full of unspoken emotions. Back than, her parents, Asuma and many more were alive. Back than they didn't have to fear if someone left for mission, it may be the last time they see them. They walked in and they immediately heard noise coming from one of the classrooms. They knew it was Iruka's class since he tends to be late sometimes. Not as much as Kakashi, but Iruka had his fair share of late classes. They decided to wait in front of the classroom for him. They didn't have to wait for long, as they saw Iruka approaching in fast motion. When he noticed them his mouth set up in a big grin.

"Sakura, Shikamaru, it's so good to see you. What are you doing here?" he asked as he hugged them.

"Hello Iruka-sensei. We came to see you. We have some free time and we decided it would be great to come here since we didn't see you in a really long time" Sakura answered with a sweet smile.

"Oh how thoughtful of you. I'm about to have class, please come in" He didn't wait for their response as he opened the classroom door. Sakura and Shikamaru exchanged looks. This is not what they had in mind.

"Calm down class. We have guests today. They are my ex students, one of the best shinobi in the village." Iruka exclaimed as Sakura and Shikamaru came into classroom. Whispers irrupted.

"This is Haruno Sakura. She is one of the best medical ninja's in all 5 nations and this is Nara Shikamaru. He is one of the best strategist Konoha has seen in a long time."

"Sakura-chan!" a little girl stood up and started waving at Sakura.

"Yui! I haven't seen you in a long time. Are you practicing with shurikens still?" Yui is a girl that Sakura treated when she got hurt during her practices. Never anything serious, just few scratches here and there.

"Yes, I got much better so I don't get hurt anymore." Yui answered with a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"That's great, Gambate." Sakura sent her a sweet smile.

Yui smiled so that eyes weren't visible anymore. "Haii!" she shouted as she sat down.

"Okay, so we will have class outside and my former students will tell you a little bit about ninja life and maybe show you few techniques, if that's okay with you." Iruka turned towards Shkiamaru and Sakura with hopeful look in his eyes. That was definitely not what they had in mind. But looking at Iruka and other students who had amazed look in their eyes, Sakura just couldn't deny.

"Sure, I have some free time before I need to meet up with Neji for our training session"

"Neji Hyuuga?" a girl asked with pitched voice.

"Yes, you know him?" Sakura asked cocking her head to the side. She didn't see her around Neji before and the girl didn't have signature Hyuuga eyes.

""Yes, he is so awesome. He will be my husband when I grow up" girl announced proudly.

Sakura tried her best not to laugh. She didn't know Neji was so popular with the younger generations.

"Well than I need to tell Ten Ten to watch out. She has quite the competition."  
Big grin made its way to girls face.  
Sakura turned to Shikamaru: "How about you, you have some free time?"  
" How troublesome" was all he said, but Sakura knew he would not let her hanging. She turned to Iruka and nodded.  
"Great. So kids we will meet you at the training field in -" Iruka didn't even finish his sentence, half of the class was already out the door. Sakura chuckled. Oh how they reminded her of her teammates.

Three of them made their way to the training field only to find all the students sitting on the grass, waiting for them.  
"Okay class. Sakura and Shikamaru will tell you a little bit about what it means to be ninja." He turned towards then and sent them sweet smile. All attention was on them. Sakura wasn't used to this. What was she supposed to tell them. That many people will die. People they care about. That once they leave academy their life's will never be the same. She took a deep breath.

"Many of you don't really understand what it means to be ninja. I know I didn't. I thought that you go on a missions, protect village and help people. That is true, but it's only one part of it. You will face doubt, disappointment even sadness and hurt. I know they tell you in the academy that you will lose people. And unfortunately some of you might know that already," she saw some of them put their head down "but things in real life are much more different than in the books. Sadness, hurt they are much more real than you might fell when you read a sad book."

That was obvious but they are bunch of 11 year olds. She didn't know it until she experienced it. "But also are happiness and love. The most important thing is that you never give up. I was a burden to my team. Some of you might know them, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are my teammates." She heard few gasps. They are considered one of the best shinobi out there.

"Even in their genin days they were powerhouses. There was no way I could keep up with them. I didn't have kekkei genkai or big amount of chakra in me. I was only a genjisu type and I had good chakra control. And I was always the one needing protection. My team has put their lives on the line so many times for me. I felt useless. I didn't want to let them down, but I was disappointment."

"Than some bad things happened and I decided than I won't be burden ever again. If I can't fight and protect, than I will aid those who can. That's how I became medical ninja. It took a lot of work. Sometimes I wouldn't sleep for few days. My day consisted of studying, training with Tsunade-shishou and helping in hospital. But that hard work brought me where I am today. Medical ninjas should never go on the front lines, they should help from the side lines. Only medics who are allowed to the front lines are Tsunade-sama and me. I inherited the 100 Healing seal which allows me to heal myself, no matter what the wound is."

Sakura didn't want to brag or tell her life story, but it was the only way that she knew how to send a message."What I want to say is, no matter what your abilities are, you can make difference. Even if you have some special powers, you need to work really hard. That is the only way you know you did everything you could to protect those you care about. Even if things go sideways and missions don't go the way you want, you can never give up."

There was silence. Sakura didn't know what to do. Did she bore them, did she scared them.

"What are we supposed to do when our missions don't go well" a kid finally asked.

Sakura looked at Shikamaru. He is the strategist. He should tell them that. He understood and sighed murmuring "what a drag" under his breath. Iruka and Sakura chuckled.

"Many missions won't go as planned. When that happens you need to look at you options. They tell you mission comes first, but that is not true. Life of your comrades is number one. It's easier when you are supposed to give your life for the village. You will die shinobi death. The hard part is watching you teacher, friend, lover, family member do that. When your mission goes sideways you need to consider your options. If someone dies there and than for the sake of mission, will your village be safer? If you stop the mission, what will casualties be then? Many great shinobi did what they thought was the right choice, but the outcome was horrible."

"What they failed to understand is that there is no right or wrong. If you do everything you can to prevent bad things from happening, you did good. No one knows the future. When you can't clearly make the line between bad or worse. If it's not clear number like 1 life or 10, or 10 lives or 1000, all you can do is follow your gut and hope for the best. Every ninja fails at least once in their life. You just need to learn to live with that and continue."

"My late sensei taught me something called 'Will of Fire'. It's passed on with generations. It gives you strength to continue fighting. It represents hope and dreams. Dreams of peace and love. And it's our duty as your fellow shinobi to pass it on to you as previous generations did to us. And you will pass it to next generation. The cycle must always continue no matter what, as should you. You can never stop fighting and give up. That is not what true ninjas do. Find you ninja way and hold onto it. Never break it. Only than you will be true ninjas."

Sakura was looking at Shikamaru the whole time he was talking. He would be perfect Hokage. The kids were silent. They were just looking at them. None of them knew what to say.

Iruka was the one who broke the silence: "And there you have, true shinobi. You should remember their words. Does anyone have any questions?"

Few of them raised their hands. " Kiki?" Iruka called the girl on the far left.

"What are your chakra natures?" the girl asked.  
Sakura turned towards Iruka: "You teach them about chakra natures?"

"Yes. We also started teaching them about chakra manipulation. We have special program for those who have good chakra control and want to become medical ninjas. There are quite few in my class. Maybe some will become your students" Some squeals and gasps were heard. Sakura turned towards the students.

"Maybe" she smiled sweetly "My are water and earth, although I don't use them"

"And I have bloodline limit. I can control shadows."

"How. How you fight than Sakura-san. And how do you control shadows Shikamaru-san" the girl asked, shock evident in her voice.

"Like this" was all that Shikamru said as he started waving kunai which he was holding with his shadow in front of a girl. He stole that kunai from her. The students' eyes widen in shock. Sakura just snickered. Her reaction was similar when she saw it for the first time back in the academy.

"And I realise chakra from my arms and legs to create bigger impact."

"That's lame, you can't do any serious damage like that." A boy shouted, evidently bored. It was Shikamaru's turn to snicker. He knew all too well the impact of her punch. Even if she didn't use chakra it still hurt for days. Sakura just smirked. Oh how can boys be cocky.

"Why don't you fight Sakura then?" Iruka casually asked. Sakura shoot her head in his direction. She doesn't want to fight a kid.

"It's okay, he is too sure in himself. He usually doesn't train. This will motivate him" he whispered. Sakura just nodded.

"Anyone else who thinks girls are weak or that they don't need practice because they are strong can join him" Sakura announced. If it will motivate the boys and show the girls they can be strong as well she didn't mind.

Three boys along with the one who shouted stood up and started going towards Sakura. She lead them further from others since she will probably shatter the ground. The four boys stood in front of her. She looked back at Shikamaru who was smirking. She smirked herself as she looked back at the boys.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to attack me? I'm getting bored." She wanted to provoke them to see if there is any level headed ones.

She got her answer as all four charged, some throwing kunai's, some trying to land punches. Sakura simply avoided their attacks. She didn't even bother stopping them. One boy waved some signs as he jumped and in the next moment lightning was making it's way towards Sakura. She was surprised. It's not everyday you see someone in academy preform ninjutsu. She simply jumped as lightning came crashing into the ground. She had enough. This has been going on for 5 minutes now and she was bored.

"My turn" She said as she landed on the ground. Boys got into fighting stance but she simply hit the ground with her foot, infusing little chakra into it. The ground completely shattered and the boys lost their balance. Three of them fell down earning a few bruises. The boy who called out Sakura was somehow still standing but before he composed himself she was in front of him. He looked at her with widened eyes as she bowed down so she is at his level. She smiled sweetly and brought two finger to his forehead doing the same thing Tsunade did to Naruto the first time he fought her. The boy went flying few meters. When he stood up he had his hand over his forehead and angry expression on his face. Claps and cheers could be heard as well as few 'Sakura-chan/san is so awesome'. Sakura held her hands behind her back as she simply turned around and started walking towards where Shikamaru and Iruka were standing.

"Took you long enough" Shikamaru commented when she stood next to him.

"I wanted to see how good they are. The one who preformed ninjutsu surprised me, I must admit".

"Yes, he is a prodigy. Many girls are in love with him" Iruka said as he looked Sakura. She started laughing.

"Déjà vu" Shikamaru commented as he chuckled.

When the four boys re-joined the group Sakura spoke up again:" Does anyone have any more questions?" A boy raised a hand.

"Yes?" she pointed at the boy.

"Are you two dating?"

This took her of guard. Her cheeks became red where as Shikamaru looked at the boy dumbfounded and his eyes were little widened. Sakura started waving her hands in front of her.  
"No, no. We're just friends" She was red as a tomato.

"Really? You two look like a couple." A girl interjected.

"Yeah and I saw Shikamaru-san waiting for you in front of a hospital Sakura-chan" Yui also added.

Few whispers where heard and Sakura look at Shikamaru almost panicking only to see him red as well.

"Sakura-chan, if you are not dating him, will you go on a date with me?" A boy stood up with wide grin on his face.

Now it was Sakura's turn to be dumbfounded. Before she could answer a girl also stood up and turned to the boy:"Baka, she is dating Shikamaru-san. I see them walking together and talking all the time"

"We are not together" Sakura said once again. It's true that they spent time together when they are free, which is not very often. Shikamaru has a little bit more free time so he sometimes picks her up from the hospital and walks her home. They occasionally take the long way but they just talk about their day and stuff like that.

"Even if she isn't dating him, she would never go out with you" a boy who can preform ninjutsu cut in.

"Teme, no one asked you anything." The boy was heading towards the other one. All attention was on them now.

"Déjà vu indeed" Sakura said as she started laughing again. She felt so relieved that attention was no longer on her and Shikamaru.

"Okay that's enough. Everyone head back to the classroom. We will now continue with our classes." Iruka said as he stood between the two boys. Many whines of despair were heard as the students headed towards the classroom in slow movements. Iruka turned towards his former students: "Sorry about that, kids are always more interested in love than training" he scratched back of his neck uncomfortably.

"It's okay. I was the same" Sakura smiled reassuringly at her former sensei.

"We'll be on our way now. I still have some business in the AHD. It was nice seeing you sensei." Shikamaru shook Iruka's hand.

"Please, I'm no longer your sensei. You are higher rank than me now"

"Goodbye, we'll see you around." Sakura offered a parting hug which he accepted.

"Goodbye, thank you for visiting. You are welcome anytime you want. Take care!" he sent them sweet smile as he waved. They waved in return as they headed towards the gates of academy.

"I'll be heading to the training ground now. Better to warm up a little bit before Neji arrives."

"Sure. We part here then. I'll see you around." Shikamaru hugged Sakura. This wasn't uncommon. They usually said their goodbyes like this.

"Bye Shikamaru" Sakura turned around and stated running towards the training ground 3 she and Neji usually train, still embarrassed by the boy's question.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello everyone. I'm back with another chapter. I can't guarantee I'll be able to post it next week since I'm going on excursion with my school and we will do a lot of sightseeing. We're visiting Prague and Dresden so does anyone have any recommendation what I should visit or somewhere to go shopping or maybe eat. We'll stay there for 5 days plus 2 traveling days. I'll try to write a chapter in advance but I can't give my word I'll be able to do that. If I don't succeed I'll upload a bigger chapter next time. That should be all. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

 _P.S. Naruto unfortunately does not belong to me..._

~x~

She had an hour before he should arrive. She started doing taijutsu. Even tho she did practice while she was working in the hospital, it wasn't as efficient. She was working on her speed and punches with no infused chakra. Half an hour later she could feel sweat starting to form on her forehead. She decided to rest a bit since she will need a lot of energy when Neji arrives. She didn't have long since he showed up 4 minutes after.

"You are early" Sakura noticed when he stepped into the training ground.

"I can say the same. How long have you been here?"

"Not for long. Half an hour maybe. I visited academy with Shikamaru. You have quite a few admirers there. Ten Ten better watch out." Sakura snickered.

Neji smirked: "So that's why Shikamaru was late."

Sakura looked at Neji questionably: "Late?"

"Aa, we had some business regarding our last mission. We may have a mole. Somehow enemy groups knew when we would be close to Konoha gates. It's classified but you would have eventually find out since you usually do Tsunade-sama paperwork."

It was true. When there was not much to do in the hospital, Sakura would go and help her shishou with paperwork. She knew almost everything that is happening in the village. Tsunade has outmost trust in Sakura, that's why she is allowed to know along with Shizune.

"A mole? But who?" Sakura was shocked to say the least. Anbu operatives are the most loyal shinobi. Itachi Uchiha is example of that.

"We don't know. We suspect it was someone from the root. When Itachi killed Danzou some of Root operatives started working with us. Every single one of them did prove his loyalty to the Hokage. Those who didn't left the village and are now marked as rouge ninja. But they are the only ones who would be able to do something like that." Neji had angry expression on his face.

There was silence. Sakura didn't know what to think. She had an idea regarding Anbu and she wasn't sure if it would help or be in the way now.

"What's on your mind?" Neji asked looking down to Sakura who was sitting against the tree.

Sakura didn't speak. She didn't know if she should tell him. She wasn't sure if Tsunade will approve in the first place.

"I thought about joining the Anbu." She looked at Neji who had shock on his face which soon turned into anger.

Before he could say anything she continued: "I work at the hospital. I help people. But inside Konoha gates we have 2 of the best medical ninjas. Out there none. Medic's are not allowed to join Anbu. If that attack on you happened a little further from the gates you would have not made it. Sai and Shikamaru would have probably died as well. And if you have a mole, he will be bound to make a mistake when Hokage's student joins the Anbu. It will be big news. You could track everyone much easily since attention will most likely be on me. I can also aid those who get hurt on a missions as well as fight with them. It's a win-win situation." She wasn't looking at Neji, but she could feel his eyes burning holes in her head.

"If I didn't know how smart you are, I would have activated my Byakugan to see if you have brain inside that head of yours. That is completely unacceptable. It would be too dangerous for you to risk your life like that. No one will approve. You are too important to everyone, not only because of your medical skills. You went out for a day when you healed me. If something like that happened on a mission it would be disaster."

Sakura snapped her head towards him. Now she was pissed. "You don't think you are important or Sai or Shikamaru. You think it's okay for you to risk your life like that. It's definitely not. But it's what ninjas do. And I'm ninja, medical or not. As for the seal I think I have found a way. I'll need to discuss it with Tsunade-sama, but if it's possible I will be able to heal fatal wound's and still fight without passing out. And you know that I'm much harder to kill than I look. For fuck sake Neji, I killed Sasori even tho I still didn't have my seal activated. I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Even If I get stabbed in the heart, I would survive. Can't say that for many who are in the Anbu and yet they still risk it. You know better than anyone I shouldn't be taken lightly. And if someone has balls to try and hurt the people I care about by leaking the information, I will snap his spine in two myself." She was ragging. Did he really say that she would be burden. Him of all people.

Now was his turn to be silent. She did have a point. She had bigger chance of surviving than any of them. He sat next to her and sighed.

"I can't say you are wrong. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just everyone in the village knows you. Every ninja in the village would help you without second thought. I for one own you everything. Many young girls look up to you. If anything happened to you no one would be able to live with that. Especially not those who were on a team with you. And Tsunade-sama will probably rip their heads off. Everyone knows she thinks of you as her daughter. Everyone know you are more than capable Sakura, but you are always ready to sacrifice everything for others. Many would not be able to sleep knowing you might do just that when you are on a mission." He looked at her with soft look. He was afraid for her. She was literally part of his family. He would be the first one to blame himself if anything happened for her.

"Neji, I know you are afraid. But how do you think I felt when they brought you in. I wasn't sure if my heart has stopped beating or was beating too fast for me to register. I sit in a hospital everyday knowing one of my next patients can be someone from Konoha 12 or some of my former sensei's or someone else I really care about and I might not be capable of saving them because it's too late or something like that. I could never live with myself if that happened. If I knew I could have been there with them to aid them immediately and save their life."

It was true. That event reminded her that by being in the hospital, she can only save them if they live long enough to make it to the hospital. And almost all of her friends who go on a missions are in Anbu. Ino works with her father in Intelligence Division. Hinata has her own genin team, she gave her sister right to become the future head of the clan since that is not what she wanted. Lee is still going on a missions even if he is not in the Anbu, alongside Choji. Ino-Shika-Cho is still assembled for missions sometimes. Kiba, Ten Ten, Shino and obviously Neji, Shikamaru and Sai are in Anbu. If she joins, she can help them during missions. If someone ends up in hospital and it's serious, Tsunade-sama will be there to heal them.

"I know you well enough to know that there is no way I can talk you out of this. My only hope is that Tsunade-sama will. And I'm not the one who is going to tell Shikamaru about that idea. There is no way I'm dealing with that." Neji chuckled. Shikamaru is not going to be happy.

Sakura sent him a big grin "Don't worry, I will talk to shishou about it first. But why is Shikamaru a problem?"

"I'll make a guess and say he will not go along with the idea. Call it a gut feeling" Neji sent Sakura knowing look. She didn't understand what he meant. Sure he won't agree at first, like Neji but she doesn't think there will be any bigger problems.

"Shall we train? I want to see if you are cut for Anbu." Neji teased her.

Sakura looked at him, evil look on her face. "Aa, I'll go easy on you." And with that they started sparing.

3 hours later they were both painting heavily. Neji managed to stop her chakra flow few times but she quickly recovered, as for him she hit him a few times but she didn't break anything. They weren't going to kill each other.

"I must admit, you are better than I thought you'd be considering that you don't leave hospital" Neji said trying to catch his breath.

"I might be spending a lot of time there, but that doesn't mean I don't train. I do it at least 4 times a week." Sakura felt her lungs burning.

" At least 4 times? But I know for a fact that you sometimes don't leave hospital for a few days, until Tsunade-sama makes you go home." Neji was standing straight now, serious expression on his face.

"I go for training when I have breaks or when I'm on my way home when Shikamaru doesn't walk with me" Sakura chuckled" I think that's the reason he does it. It's the only way he can make sure I actually go home and not to the training grounds."

"Sakura, you are seriously overworking yourself. I'm surprised you didn't faint earlier." Neji was still serious. She could see a hint of anger in his eyes. She just waved it off.

"If I'm in the hospital I'll do as much work as I can. But I don't want to slack off with practicing. As I said, I'm medical ninja. I never know when I'll have a mission." She said as she jumped on a branch.

Neji just sighed. She was crazy when it came to overworking herself. At least Shikamaru tried to make her rest.

"Ten Ten and I are going for a ramen. Want to join us?" Neji asked looking up to Sakura. It was already night time and he was sure she was hungry.

"No, it's fine. You two are busy and you don't get much time to spent together. The last thing you need is someone interrupting your lovely-dovley time."

"First of all Sakura, we work and live together. We see each other a lot. Second of all, Ten Ten has been trying to locate you since you left hospital. She was screaming all day how it's harder to find you when you are resting than when you are working. She wants to talk to you and if she wasn't held up in the HD she would have come with me here"

She sighed. She knew he wasn't taking no for an answer. "Fine." she jumped off the branch and with Neji next to her she started walking in direction of Ichiraku's.

When Ichiraku was in the eye sight, giggles could be heard from it. She recognized Ten Ten and Ino and she knew that Sai was with them as well. It was evident that Naruto also joined them when they heard him yelling something they couldn't make out, but they were sure it was aimed towards Sai. He still enjoyed making fun of Naruto. When they entered everyone turned their heads towards them.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto yelled with wide grin on his face.

"Ah, ugly is joining us as well." Sai said with a small smile,but everyone knew it wasn't fake.

"Good to see you too, Sai" she took a seat next to Ino while Neji sat next to Ten Ten, giving her little kiss on the lips. They were so adorable.

"Where have you been Sakura? I searched the whole village and no one knew where you were. Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Ten Ten asked frustrated. Ino shot her head towards Sakura and sent her a glare. She then turned her head to Ten Ten: "Do you still have those chakra chains we talked about?"

"I am resting. You can't expect from me to stay in the house the whole day. I was in the library in the morning than went to academy to visit Iruka-sensei and after I trained with Neji."

"Oh my God, Forehead. Rest means sleep and read books. Not having tour around the village and then training your ass off." Ino shook her head.

"Well compared to what her day looks usually, she is on vacation. If Shikamaru didn't walk her home she probably wouldn't even be there. From what I understood she would go from hospital straight to the training grounds and then back to hospital" Neji said with even voice while looking at her.

"Ugly, you should really rest sometimes. You are going to become even more ugly if you don't" Sai sent her small smile again which she returned with glare.

"Sai's right. If you continue like this you are going to look like hag by the age of 30" Ino stated

"INO!" Sakura looked at her with widened eyes. So much for having her back.

"I agree with them Sakura-chan. Not that you will look ugly but you really need to rest." Naruto butt in. Sakura hit him on the back of his head. She was losing her patience. "Ouch, that hurt Sakura-chaan." Naruto cried out.

"Okay, okay you guys. She will rest how much she needs. If she faints Tsunade-sama will make her go home." Ten Ten sent Sakura apologetic smile which Sakura answered with thankful one.

"Anyway, the reason why I was looking for you was to thank you. If it weren't for you," Ten Ten paused for a few seconds but before she could continue Sakura interjected: "Ten Ten, you don't need to thank me. You never will, none of you. Healing people is what I do. I was lucky that my technique worked, that is all. I will always do everything I can to help." Sakura wasn't smiling. She was dead serious. People need to understand that.

"Sakura, you weren't lucky. You might not want to admit it but you are the best medic out there. I can vouch for that." Ino was looking Sakura straight in the eyes.

"I still need to work on it." Sakura waved her hand in front of her face, almost like dismissing the thought.

"You told me you already have something in mind." When Neji said that all eyes snapped to her.

"Well, maybe. I'm not sure it will work."

"You didn't tell me anything again Forehead" Ino said angrily.

"I thought about it yesterday when I got home. I want to store chakra solely for cases like Neji's. But I already have Yin seal, so I can't make another one. Maybe if I can store chakra in Yang seal, I would have enough chakra to heal someone and still heal myself. I would be able to summon Katsuyu as well."

"But how would that work?" Ten Ten asked, curious look on her face.

"I have Yin and Yang release. Healing requires both. Yin uses spiritual energy and Yang brings life to it. So when I heal I repair dead cells in the body. If I can use chakra from Yang seal, in theory I can bring life to dead cells in someone else's body when I manipulate that chakra in them. I did it to Neji with chakra from my Yin seal and it worked, but it may be more efficient if the chakra comes directly from Yang seal. Yin works with me because it directly heals me. It's a lot harder when it's supposed to do the same for someone whose chakra isn't used for it." Naruto, Ino and Ten Ten looked at Sakura dumbfounded. Neji had a straight face but his eyebrow was raised. Sai just stared at her.

"You might be ugly, but you are extremely smart." Sai said with his face still straight.

"Thank you, I think. But as I said, it's only in theory."

"And how long did you need to come up with this?" it was Neji this time.

"Well I started thinking about it while I was still in the hospital. When I came home I went to library and got few books and scrolls about seals and chakra storing. Even tho I read most of them I want to go over them once more to see if I missed something. And as I said, it came to me yesterday."

"You want to say you needed 3 days to figure all this out?" Ten Ten asked with disbelief in her voice.

"Yes, but it wasn't unfamiliar to me. I have experience with storing chakra so I just had to look it up a little bit more."

Naruto and Ino were silent. They just moved their heads from one person to another as the conversation progressed.

"Now I understand why Shikamaru spends so much time with you. I'm guessing you discuss some tactics together, don't you?" Neji shook his head with his eyes closed and smirk on his face.

"Well, sometimes. Usually when we play shogi." Sakura answered more silently.

"You play shogi together?" Ino shouted.

"Yes?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you ever beat him?" Ino continued.

"No. He fell in some of my traps but I'm still waiting for my victory." Sakura giggled as she remembered his shocked face when he realised that he fell in her trap.

Sai and Ino exchanged looks with Neji and Ten Ten.

"What?" Sakura asked confused.

"Nothing Forehead, absolutely nothing" Ino answered with smirk on her face. Sakura narrowed her eyebrows. She didn't like it when Ino didn't say what was on her mind, it was never a good sign.

"Naruto, you are strangely quiet, is everything okay?" Sakura just wanted to move on from her and Shikamaru.

"Hai, I'm just trying to figure out all that seal and chakra storing thing. I didn't quite get it when you explained." He scratched back of his neck uncomfortably. Sakura started laughing. That was so like him.

"Naruto you are not only dickless, you are brainless as well" Sai concluded with significant smile on his face. Naruto turned red. Before Naruto could answer Sakura cut in, she didn't need a fight right now.

"Food is going to get cold." She picked up her chopsticks "Itadakimasu".

Everyone did the same thing and they spent the night in a light chatter.

~o~

To say Sakura was nervous was an understatement. Last time she was this nervous was during the chuning exams. She is currently making her way to the Hokage tower. Her intention is to ask Tsunade-sama about the Ying seal and the Anbu. She was mentally preparing herself the whole day. Tsunade-sama might object with the her joining Anbu but it was right thing to do and Sakura knew it.

Once she was standing in front of the Hokage office she took few deep breaths before she knocked. She heard faint 'come in' and she entered. When she walked in she saw Kakashi standing in front of the Hokages table.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Sakura, I just came back from the mission and I was giving my report to Tsunade-sama" he smiled so his eye wasn't visible. Sakura just nodded.

"If this is about going back to the hospital earlier Sakura, it's not going to happen" Tsunade informed her with her fingers interlocked in front of her face.

"No, that's not what I'm here for shishou."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow but nodded, telling Sakura to continue.

"As you know my new technique requires a lot of chakra and I won't be able to perform it on the battlefield. So I have come up with the solution, but I'm not sure it will work"

This caught attention both from Tsunade and Kakashi.

"Continue" Tsunade laid back into the chair, her eyes locked with Sakura's. And so Sakura continued to explain about the Ying seal that she had in mind. When she finished the room was silent. Sakura almost frowned. She was tired of this reaction. Shizune, who was standing next to Tsunade looked at her : "Is that possible, Tsunade-sama?".

"Have you made space for storing chakra Sakura?" Tsunade asked not averting her gaze.

"Yes, but I wanted to talk to you first in case there is something I have missed."

"As far as I'm concerned, it works the same as Yin seal. I just don't know how much time you'll need for it."

"I will need much less, since I have mastered controlling the flow of chakra into the seal. And since I will need it for healing patients, the storage space is much smaller. I think I will need around 6 moths if I don't overwork myself."

Tsunade nodded: "Well Sakura, I'm surprised. I didn't think you will master this technique this fast and especially not find the solution to the chakra deprivation problem." Smirk made its way to Tsunade's lips "I'm very proud of you."

Sakura felt pride build up in her chest: "Thank you, shishou" she paused for a few moments "there is one more thing" she sucked in a deep breath "I want to become Anbu medic"

To this Kakashi's eye widened. Shizune chocked where as Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Sakura felt as the temperature has dropped 10 degrees.

"You are saying you want to leave hospital and take on missions as an Anbu operative?" Tsunade asked with and even voice. Sakura gulped. She slowly shook her head up and down confirming Tsunades words.

"I can't allow that." Tsunades voice didn't change.

"But Tsunade-sama. Village here has you and ninjas out there have no one. Many die on the spot. I have the seal and I'm protected. I can't aid them on the battlefield if I'm in a hospital. Even if I save only one life, it's better than none."

Tsunade abruptly stood up from her chair, making Sakura jump a little.

"Sakura! Word will spread and you will be targeted. You are already in bingo book because you killed Sasori. You might bring more attention to yourself and your squad." Tsunade was shouting now. Sakura just stood there. This was not something where she would back down.

"Shishou, I understand your concerns, but Anbu operatives wear masks. I know about the mole. Me joining Anbu will lure him out. Attention will be on me and you can follow everyone more easily. Plus you will have another set of eyes you can trust in there. I can protect myself Tsunade-sama."

At the mention of the mole, everyone in the room stiffened. Tsunade-sama dropped onto her chair and sighed.

"I can't make any arguments. You are an excellent ninja and the best medic around. If you didn't have the seal I would be able to say that you would be on the side lines and it would be too dangerous. In this situation I can't, but there is one thing. Sakura you understand that Anbu operatives are sent on assassination missions. Do you think you'll be able to do that? " Tsunade raised an

eyebrow, seriousness still present in her eyes.

There was a pause. Sakura sure wasn't a person for that stuff but she killed before. She is ninja after all. And she needed to protect her friends.

"Hai."

Tsunade sighed "Than I can't stop you. All I can say is that I would prefer you not joning ANBU."

Kakashi snapped his head in Tsunade's direction.

"Tsunade-sama?" He didn't expect this reaction from her. He didn't want this reaction. His little Sakura can't join Anbu. She is not for that. She is too caring and sweet for that.

Tsunade stayed silent.

" Sakura, if you want to join Anbu you will take the test in 3 months. I, along with someone else, will test your physical endurance but before that you will have to pass writing exam. Your work in hospital will be limited to 6 hours per day. After that you are to go home, meditate and study for the test if you think you knowledge isn't enough. You are allowed to train 4 times a week. Those are the conditions. Do you accept them?"

Sakura didn't have to think for a second. She was allowed more than she was when she first stated collecting chakra for the Yin seal.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama" Sakura said with perfect posture, her eyes locked with chocolate ones.

"Dismissed"

When Sakura left Shizune turned to Tsunade: "Tsunade-sama, is it smart to let her join. Her medical skills are outstanding. As you said, she will be targeted."

"I agree with Shizune. Anbu is not a place for people like Sakura. She is too soft, caring and –" Kakashi stopped talking. Tsunade looked at him under her lashes with and angry eye.

" _Fragile?_ " Tsunade chuckled " Sakura doesn't have to take the exams. She should be accepted in Anbu immediately. She is a special jonin. She's 18 and she has already modified the seal. She is a prodigy. Her reasons for joining Anbu are good. It's true when she says she has better chances of surviving. I postponed it and made her rest. It's all that I will do. And you need to have faith in her. She's my student after all. If she makes it into Anbu, she will have few months of training to be less... destructive and more subtle as well as all other knowledge that is needed for Anbu. We will keep an eye on her and wait for the mole to make a mistake." Tsunade finished with a smirk plastered across her face.

The discussion ended there, but Kakashi felt uneasy. He promised himself that if he couldn't save Rin, he will make sure Sakura is safe. But now, she will be out of his reach. He won't be able to keep an eye on her. And he didn't like it.

* * *

 _Thank you for reading. I'll talk to you as soon as I can. Kisses_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello, hello. I didn't manage to write anything while I was in Prague. When I came home I had a lot of stuff in school and outside of it so I wasn't able to upload new chapter. And I'm truly sorry for that. I wrote this as soon as I could and it might not be best. It's Sunday 6 a.m. and I will check it again a little later to see if something could/should be fixed. I had to upload now because I was so angry and sad because I didn't upload for so long. I usually write it and reread it with a few hours in between. I'm uploading this as soon as I wrote it. So it will be checked a bit later than usual, after I learn Sociology for tomorrow -.- . That will be all. Enjoy._

 _P.S. I do not own Naruto._

~x~

Last 9 weeks have been boring for Sakura. She doesn't do almost anything in the hospital. She's called only for emergencies, which luckily was only a couple of times. Her days are filled with reading and meditating. She tries to practice with Neji or Lee or someone, but her friends are all busy. The only time she can spend with Shikamaru is when they play shogi. He has a lot of missions to go through but it's all classified, so they can't talk about it. She still didn't tell him about her joining Anbu. Until she is accepted, she won't tell anyone. Well, she told Neji but he doesn't know she talked to shishou about it.

When she trains alone, she practices ninjutsu. She was given good chakra natures and it would be a shame to waste it. That's what she would be doing now if she wasn't lying in bed with high fever. It's funny how she can heal lethal wounds but is powerless against fever. Ino visited her yesterday and helped her clam the fever down since it's really hard for Sakura to control her chakra flow. She's still storing chakra in her seal, just not as much as she would if she was okay.

But that's not the worst of her worries. She started having those dreams again. Dreams with emotionless eyes and bloody bodies, those which once belonged to her parents. Her mother's energy which once shined out of her, warming those around her and made them feel loved was replaced with cold aura that screamed hate, disappointment, pain, sadness...

Her father's angry stare and words that tear her soul into pieces every time she hears them:

"It's all your fault."

"You should have protected us"

" You should have done something in The Forest if Death."

"You are too weak."

"You are not cut out to be shinobi"

"You are disappointment to everyone around you and mostly to us."

"It's you who should be dead, not us."

And then there is Granny with the same words, even tho she willingly gave her life for Gaara, Sakura still blames herself:

"If you were faster, I wouldn't have had to give my life"

"My brother is all alone because you were useless when confronted by Itachi"

"It's all your fault."

Sakura always wakes up soaked in sweat either from fever or from nightmares. Probably both. It's been like that for 3 days now. She can't rest properly because of her 'oh so beautiful dreams'. It's funny how she never told anyone about it. Sure Kakashi-sensei figured it out on one of their missions when she had them while he was on guard. He talked to her about it and with time they stopped. They came back around 2 years ago when she lost two patients. They were the only cases that she lost, but it scared her for life.

First was jounin, 19 year old Matabi Kuisho. He was blond, few strings of his hair were always in his eyes. They were familiar since he often got hurt on missions. He was much like Naruto. It seems being knucklehead is blond thing in ninja world. He was beautiful. He had nice nose, lips, lines of his face. Sakura never felt anything towards him but that was a fact that she admitted the first time she saw him. When he was brought in, he had one clean stab in his stomach and another one in his liver. There was absolutely nothing she could do. She was 16 year old medical ninja, student of Yondayme Hokage and she was helpless once again. She tried healing him but she didn't have time nor skills. The thing that broke her heart was when she saw the look on his teammate face when she told her he didn't make it.

Pain, sorrow, sadness. All the emotions she was familiar with. They were in love. It was obvious to everyone except to them, as it never is. He was just a 19 year old boy who was yet to experience love, have family, rise his kids and be happy. But he will never experience those things because she couldn't save him. She stayed back with his teammate after his funeral. They talked, his teammate cried for hours. Sakura did her best to explain to her that it wasn't her fault. He died honorable death protecting the village and those dear to him. But Sakura couldn't listen to her own advice. She stayed up for nights and nights studying, meditating so she activates her seal sooner, trying to find a way to heal those types of wounds.

The breaking point for her was an event week and a half later. He was civilian, 24 with wife and a little kid who couldn't be older than 3. He was construction worker and that day he sacrificed his life for his friend when he pushed him out of the way when a pile of big pipes started falling down. It fell on him, crushing his collar bone and chest along with his ribs. One of his ribs stabbed his lungs and once again there was nothing that Sakura could do. Tsunade was out of the village on some summit about chuning exams. The hospital was in Sakura's hands and she failed. Miserably by that. The look on his wife's face will be something she will never forget. She was all alone in raising a child, child whose father won't attend her birthday's anymore. Who won't kiss her goodnight, won't be there for her first day of school.

After that Sakura didn't sleep. Every time she would close her eyes she would see them laying lifeless there and people crying around them. She would hear words that she was too familiar with. Words lased with hate, with pain. She would hear people crying their names out begging them to come back. At first she struggled, she ran away when they started chasing her. But after some time she stopped. She let them do whatever they wish to her: kick her, stab her. She was left lying next to them. All alone. Left to absorbe the scene of her failure. The pain was all too real and she knew it was dream only when she woke up, tears going down her cheeks. She was waking up in the same pose she fell asleep.

She had completely accepted it. She felt dead. Dead inside. She had 2 hours per night the most, but she didn't feel difference whether she did or didn't sleep. When Tsunade came back she was petrified in state Sakura was. She was locking herself in her house. Outside she was putting a fake smile, but people close to her knew all too well it was all an act. Shikamaru would stay with her for nights and nights, trying to make her talk to him. He left when he realized she won't sleep at all, as long as someone was there. Ino, Naruto, Ten Ten, Hinata, Neji even Sai tried to get her to talk. Tsunade was drinking sake even more than usual. She couldn't help Sakura. She knew how it was to lose someone. This was the first time Sakura has failed. It was something she had to fight through on her own.

However, one night after drinking too much sake, Tsunade went to Sakura's house. Before Shizune found her Sakura received an earful and half of her living room was out of place. Like for example her couch was placed vertically in the corner. Sakura was just standing there first emotion visible on her face after weeks of emptiness. It was shock. Shizune somehow made Tsunade leave Sakura's house but before she left through the door she looked at Sakura and said words that Sakura will remember forever: " Don't make the same mistake as me".

After that, Sakura was thinking the whole night about what her shishou told her. How Tsunade couldn't see blood and it almost coasted Naruto his life. How she can't let these events discourage her. The number of casualties will only increase if Sakura gives up. How she has great potential. But what really brought Sakura back was how her master was acting. She didn't realize how it affected people around her. Looking back, her house was almost never empty. Her friends would bring her food because they knew she didn't eat, they would talk to her about their days and Sakura would participate. But the moment something made her remember the deaths she blamed herself for, she would close up. Just like that. They were all worried about her. She had burdened them again. That night she decided that she will find a way to fix any wound, no matter how long it took. And it took her 2 years. It all went easier when she got the seal . She could turn theory into practice. Tsunade says she had been truly trying to figure it out for 6 months because she couldn't feel it before. When chakra heals her wounds and when she shares chakra with Katsuyu. It all contributed to her new technique. But Sakura is still haunted by their faces. After snapping out of her depression state, Sakura helped with raising that girl, her name is Tori. Since she is now 5 Sakura doesn't see her as often. She will start academy next year and Sakura promised her she would help her practice.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when her doorbell rang. She snorted. Slowly, she got up and when she went down the stairs she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Half past 2? Sakura woke up at 7 and drifted in her thoughts after her breakfast. She was thinking for some time.

She got to the door and unlocked it. She pushed the doorknob down and pulled the door towards her only to reveal Shikamaru standing there, holding bento in his hand.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura asked cocking her head to the side.

"I ran into Ino today when I was with my mother and she told me you were sick. My mom made chicken soup and told me to deliver it to you." He scratched the back of his neck. "How are you feeling?"

"Aww, you brought me chicken soup even if it was a drag, I feel so honoured" Sakura giggled. She enjoyed teasing him too much. Shikamaru turned his head but Sakura noticed a tint of pink on his cheeks.

"I've been better, but also worse. Thank you for the soup, really. Do you want to come in. Knowing you, you probably didn't eat because it's too troublesome" Sakura moved so she made space for Shikamaru to come in. He smirked and shook his head.

"Sometimes it's creepy how you know what I did and didn't do. If you weren't sick I would have thought you stalked me." He sent her side glance as he made his way to the kitchen.

She made slow movements that imitated his, but by the time she was in kitchen the table was made and he was heating up the soup.

"All you need is apron and you will make a perfect housewife" Sakura giggled as she sat at the table. He just smirked as he was used to her provocations.

"A housewife comes in handy when you are sick, doesn't it?"

" I must admit it does" She smiled sweetly at him, thanking him with her smile.

Chicken soup was delicious. It was Sakura's favorite. She occasionally got sick because of her overworking habit. She always get a lot of flowers and chicken soups from different people and clans because everyone feels like they own her or they simply care for her. But the one from Shikamaru's mother is the best. It reminds her of the one her mother made for her. After they ate, they sat on the couch and talked. Sakura told him about her work in the hospital and the seal but not about ANBU. Words that Neji said rang in her head and if he was right, there would be an argument. Or heated discussion. Whatever it was she didn't have energy for it. She was simply too tired.

He talked about the mole, since she already knew. As he talked he felt shifting next to him. If he wasn't ninja he would have missed the all to quiet words - "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry". He immediately turned to look at her only to find her asleep, having really restless dream if it was to judge by her furrowed eyebrows and sweat on her forehead. He knew what that meant. He gently but quickly pulled her next to him and hugged her whispering reassuring words like " It's okay, I'm here" and "You are safe".

After few minutes of gentle soothing, Sakura slowly calmed down but didn't wake up. She continued to sleep peacefully.

He took her to her room and made sure she was cozy and comfortable. He didn't leave her room, he just sat there looking at her.

Shikamaru was fully aware that her nightmare could come back at any given moment, so he decides it was best to stay with her just in case. He wondered if her nightmares came back because she was sick or did they appear much longer before she even got her flu. If that was the case, he will have a really big talk with her. It was true that she didn't scream, but it doesn't change the fact that she is not okay, mentally. Shikamaru was supposed to write some reports but he couldn't leave her like this. He knew Tsunade-sama will understand.

It was night when he looked out of the window. As far as he was concerned, he will stay 2 days if it he had to, just to make sure she rests. When he came to give her soup, he knew something was off, she was too pale even for a sick person. He will have to talk to Tsunade-sama. They can never let what had happened to her happen again.

He watched her sleep peacefully, chest slowly rising and falling in an even manner. When looking so calm, it was hard to imagine Sakura being one of the most powerful kunoichi's out there. Small frame of her body tucked under the sheets resembled one of a girl who was kind, loving and… fragile. But the girl lying in front of him was all but fragile. She was strong, independent, hard working, smart, hot headed and merciless if it was needed but soft and caring nevertheless. Shikamaru watched her sleep for a long time. Term 'time' became all but a distant idea of something it should resemble as he sat there, at the edge of her bead, watching her like a hawk for any sudden movements or whispers. But luckily, none came.

* * *

 _Thank you for reading. I'll talk to you soon. Kisses._


	5. Chapter 5

_You know when you have a plan and than life totally fs you up. Like when you plan on being a straight A student and than the next thing you know you are praying for D- in math. That's exactly what happened here. This chapter was supposed to be updated much earlier and to be longer. But unfortunately, that's not the case. For the past 2 weeks I have had days where I sleep for 3 hours and than totally get knocked out for like 10 hours. And than repeat it again. School has been chaotic, the competitions are coming really soon, so my practices are harder than usually. I had at least 5 tests per week because where I live you have to have at least 2 grades by the end of October in every subject, and I have 13. Plus we lost a week and a half because of excursion. I'm really sorry for not updating. When it all settles a bit, I will update much more. I promise. I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Light coming from the window made it hard to see when she opened her eyes. Sakura wasn't sure what woke her up, warming rays of sunshine or scent of food that filled her room. For the first time in a while she was feeling rested, none of her nightmares occurred as far as can recall. Than it hit her: Shikamaru.

She quickly ran down the stairs only to find her friend making pancakes.

"You look much better today."

"Yes, I saw you examined me carefully." She said sarcastically since he didn't turn around. "What are you doing here this early in here?". She was now sitting at the table watching him make her breakfast.

"First of all, I don't need to see you to know you are better. And besides, you ran down the stairs. Second of all it's noon so it's not that early. I stayed the night because I wanted to make sure you didn't have the nightmare again." He looked at her over his shoulder, but quickly turned around to make sure that the pancake doesn't burn.

Sakura stiffened at his words. This is not good, not good at all.

"Nightmare? I don't remember having it." She wasn't lying, she really didn't remember.

There were a few moments of silence before Shikamaru brought pancakes to the table and sat on the chair which was placed on the side next to the one Sakura was sitting at. She looked at the pancakes. Not because she was hungry, but because she couldn't make an eye contact. If his eyes emitted lasers, Sakura was sure she would have a hole in her head already.

"How long have you been having them?"

She sighed. There was no way around this. "Only for a few days, since I got sick. But I really don't remember having it last night so they probably passed since I'm all better now. Your mom is a miracle worker" She turned her head so she was facing him, but didn't make eye contact since her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her lips. "Tell her thank you for me".

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as they came back" His eyes never left her, stern look present in them.

"We hadn't seen each other in these few days." Sakura finally looked him into the eyes. "Look, I completely understand your concerns, I really do, but there is no reason for you to worry yourself with it. I will not allow myself to get to the stage I got last time. I won't allow all of you to worry about me. Not again, not like that. I promise."

She was looking him dead in the eyes. She wasn't kidding and she wanted to make sure he knew that. And he did get the message. After few moments of silence and just looking into each other's eyes, Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again he didn't have the stern and almost angry look in his eyes, rather he was sending her soft gaze filled with concern. Before speaking up, he put his hand over hers and squeezed it lightly. "Sakura, you always fail to realize that I, along with everybody else, will never stop worrying about you, like you never stop worrying about us. It's the way it works, especially in the world we live in. I want you to tell me things like this. You don't have to go trough this alone."

"I know. Thank you." She acknowledge his words. They were still looking at each other, not moving their hands. Once Sakura realized how their hands were positioned she became red, where as Shikamaru widened his eyes. They moved their hands quickly and broke eye contact.

"These pancakes look really delicious" sounded Sakura's poor attempt to break the awkwardness that filled the room. Her still being red was not helping one bit.

Shikamaru coughed slightly. "Yes. I mean thank you. Let's eat."

"Mhm. Itadakimasu"

They eat in silence, enjoying delicious taste that pancakes left in their mouth.

"This was delicious Shikamaru. You should really consider becoming housewife, it really suits you. I will buy you a really beautiful apron for your birthday. I was thinking pink, but maybe purple would look beautiful too. Do you have a preference by any chance?"

Shikamaru smirked. "No, not really. I will leave that hard task to you. It's too troublesome."

Sakura picked up the plates and went to wash them. Shikamaru was still sitting at the table. He knew Sakura wouldn't let him clean up, so he just sat there in the comfortable silence. Even tho she was really sick yesterday, Sakura moved swiftly and with such grace it was hard not to admire her. Yes, she was just cleaning the dishes and placing them back where they belonged but all her moves were calculated and while she was moving around her hair was giving off that beautiful shine as the sun gently fell over it.

"So you still don't know who the mole is?" Shikamaru was pulled out of his thoughts with this sudden question.

"No, we are not actually getting anywhere. It's as if the mole disappeared. He is ether laying low or is so skilled we can't find any clues. Neji, Ten Ten, Sai, Shino, Kiba, Yamato and I are the only ones in ANBU who know about the mole. Kakashi, Shizune and you are probably the only ones know outside the ANBU. We all have those who we are supposed to keep an eye on. Ten Ten is keeping an eye on Asu Mahumi, Neji on Zero Vermilion, Shino on Hatsumi Gabukimi, Kiba on Etsu Fuhino, Sai on Taki Nakimilu and Yamato, Kakashi and I are on overall lookout since all the members from Root have been covered. But we can't be careless. Shino occasionally sends his bugs on the lookout as well but we are talking about ANBU after all, so his bugs can't spend too much time around them. We need to make a strategy because we are just chasing our tails like this." Shikamaru has put his head between his hands and was staring down at the table where as Sakura has finished with washing her hands and is currently leaning on the sink, resting both of her hands on the edge of it. She wanted to tell Shikamaru about her joining ANBU, but something was holding her back. She sighed. It's now or never.

"You will hopefully have another thing that may help with the investigation soon."

Shikamaru's head perked up, but his eye's narrowed when he saw the look in her eyes. He was no fool and she knew that. Sakura closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what may come.

"I have an ANBU test in around 3 weeks and if I pass, you will have a bait for the mole." Eyes still closed she heard loud thud- his hands hitting table she guessed. Her suspicions were proven right when she opened her eyes and found Shikamaru with his fists on the table almost gaping at her, showing his total and utter shock. In other conditions, Sakura would be laughing her ass of at his facial expression but current conditions made her stomach tie in a knot. A dragged out "What" escaped his mouth, his disbelief noticeable in every syllable, making Sakura cringe.

"I talked to Tsunade-sama and she gave me few conditions for these 3 months I had to prepare. Please don't make me explain my reasons. I know you are smart enough to figure them out without a problem."

"You didn't tell me that you want joining ANBU for 9 weeks?" His voice was laced with hurt, which startled Sakura.

"No, no, no. I mean yes. I didn't know how to tell you, I-I… I wanted to, really. But Neji said you wouldn't be happy and you already have so much on your mind I didn't want to add to your stress even though this is not something to stress about because it's really good thing. There will hopefully be a bigger surviving rate with my new seal and all and, and….. Sorry" Sakura was rumbling frantically trying to explain everything. But the lack of his response turned her blood to ice. The last thing she needed was for him to be mad at her.

He abruptly stood up, chair almost crashing down to the floor. His eyes were piercing trough her.

"Not something to stress about? Not something-" Shikamaru stopped middle sentence and sighed, closing his eyes and trying to collect himself. If he acted like this, it will prove her right and add more to her argument. Slowly opening them he saw Sakura leaning on the sink, her eyes filled with concern. His heart squeezed at this. He hated seeing her like this.

"You should have told me Sakura. I thought we had an honest relationship where we can tell each other everything. Yes, I do not like an idea of you joining ANBU at all, but I could never be mad at you for wanting to protect others. That's one of yours most precious traits. Neji knows about you joining ANBU, probably Ten Ten as well. Neji has a lot of things going on in his life too, yet you chose to tell him, but not me? I'm not jealous or anything of that sort. This is not a small thing Sakura. You didn't care about my opinion? You guessed I would be stressed or whatever. Why didn't you come to see me and talk to me about it. This is not something you decide over night, so why didn't you came to me to discus it, Sakura? Pros and cons. Everything. I think you know me better than to assume I will try to talk you out of it, for I know there is no way of changing your mind if you make a decision. We could have gone trough this together. I could have helped you with studying, tell you more than there is in the books."

Shikamaru was hurt. The stupidest person would realize that. Sakura felt just like that. Like the most stupid person to ever live. How could she keep this a secret. Now that she asks herself that, her mind turns empty. They did have the most open relationship, he did know her that well. She felt so idiotic for assuming he would react like the others. She hurt him. She really did this time. It was all visible in the way his eyes were looking at her. It was visible in every line on his face. Sakura hated herself right now.

"Shikamaru, I-"

Shikamaru raised his hand, successfully stopping Sakura. He shook his head.

"I'm glad you are doing better. I have some business to take care of now. I'll see you at the exam." Without another word he started heading towards the door.

Sakura stood rooted in place, just looking at his back. She didn't know what to think, what to do. She couldn't just let him leave like this. She couldn't let him leave mad at her. The sound of door closing snapped her out of her trance and she started running towards the door. Sakura pulled the door open, but Shikamaru was long gone. She couldn't even feel his chakra signature anymore.

Oh God, what has she done.

* * *

 _Nothing special, I know. Chapters after this will be better. That is all for now. I'll talk to you soon. Kisses_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello everyone, I'm back. I know, I'm horrible for not uploading for so long. I had a lot of stuff to deal with, but honestly I had time. The biggest problem was that I got stuck. I had an idea for where this story should go, but I wasn't sure anymore. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to_ _ **change direction a bit**_ _. I can no longer guarantee that there will be no death and if needed I will change the rating. I'll try not to tho. Neji won't die! That stays. My darling will stay in this story till the very end hahaha. But for rest I can't say the same for sure because if something happens to someone, there won't be that anticipation and tension. Everyone will know that character will be okay in the end. And for me personally, that anticipation is what makes me read the story till the end. There are a lot of things I want to say, but I will stop after one more thing. Thank you so much for the reviews. That's the reason why I'm uploading this now. I will address the rest at the A/N at the end so please read it. Thank you so much guys. Now enjoy!_

 _~x~_

"Don't give me that look... please" Sakura sighed, trowing her head back and closing her eyes. Looking at her best friend again, Sakura almost winced at the look she was giving her. "Say something Ino."

She was getting nervous. Ino being silent with the shocked/stunned and somewhat hurt look wasn't good. Her childhood friend was never silent.

"Sakura... WHAT THE HECK? YOU ARE JOINING ANBU BUT DIDN'T TELL ME?" Ino pinched her nose to calm down when she saw Sakura wincing at her tone "And now Shikamaru is angry with you..."

Now it was Ino's turn to exhale in rather dramatic matter.

"Ino, you know I shouldn't tell you that. I didn't even take test yet and even when I do, I'm not supposed to tell."

"I know, I know. But everyone eventually finds out. Tsunade-sama knows that every jounin knows who is in Anbu even if that's supposed to be a secret. Heck, you even knew that Kakashi-sensei used to be a part of Anbu when you were genin"

"Yeah... I'm sorry for not telling you and for keeping you in the dark for so many things. You know none of it was intentional. There are just so many things going on, my mind is all over the place" Sakura put her head in her hands and squeezed her knuckles while her hair was in them and stared at the table.

They were currently at Ino's place. Few days have passed since Shikamaru found out about her possibly joining Anbu. Sakura tried to come up with a way to go and apologize but none of the ideas seemed right. She basically broke a few rules by telling Ino about it since she's not a part of her team and she's not a part of Anbu but Ino was right. Eventually everyone finds out. If nothing, Ino would have seen her tattoo when they went to hot springs.

Sakura hasn't seen Shikamaru anywhere and she didn't know if she was grateful for that or not. It was a good thing because she still doesn't know what she would do if she saw him. She would apologize of course, but she didn't know how she would do that. A simple 'I'm sorry for not telling you about Anbu, even if I should have but didn't want to burden you and for listening Neji even tho he knows you much better than I do and...'- wouldn't do. If she was going to apologize like that she should at least know how to end it. Shinkamaru might not even listen to her, and that's something that she couldn't handle right now. Or possibly ever. It's something that never fails to tear her apart. She couldn't handle her friends being angry with her. On the other hand, she misses him. She misses bumping into him in the Hokage Tower or finding him in front of hospital waiting for her.

A gentle hand that settled on hers broke Sakura from her thoughts. She looked up and to her surprise found a gently smiling Ino looking at her.

"Don't worry about that Forehead. I'm used to it. You always cover yourself with work and you have a very little free time. And I completely understand that. What you do is extremely important. Heck, if it weren't for you who knows how many times cemetery would have been visited by everyone. As for Shikamaru, I can see both of your sides. He cares for you and will always be concerned about you, as we all will. That's how it works with connections as deep as ours. I will admit it's uncharacteristic behavior for him to just disappear like that, but he is hurt. You remember when our late sensei died. This just shows how much he cares about you. And you said that even Tsunade-sama asked you if everything was okay because he isn't as efficient as he usually is.

Come on, we are talking about Shikamaru here. He is the definition of level-headed person who never let's emotions and personal issues affect his work. So as I said, this is deeply affecting him. I can see that you see your mistake from what you told me, and Shikamaru will come around once when he cools his head a bit. If he doesn't, I will throw him in an ice bath and make him stay there until he realizes that he is, in fact, overreacting."

"I don't know if I should feel about 'I'm used to it' part, but thank you Ino. I really don't want for him to be angry at me and I want to fix this as soon as possible but I don't know how." Sakura smiled sweetly at her best friend and rival. Despite how Ino can be at times, she always knows what to say and how to put her at ease. And Sakura will forever be grateful for it.

As Ino opened her mouth to say something, the door to her house opened and Sai walked in. Ino immediately jumped off of the chair and almost tackled her boyfriend when she jumped on him. He greeted her with the soft kiss on the lips and even softer smile and it warmed Sakura to see Ino that happy. Her friend deserved nothing less and if Sai didn't treat her as he did, there would be a lot of lengthy conversations which would possibly end up with a few broken bones, depending on the direction which those conversations took.

When Ino decided it was time to get off of her boyfriend, but not let his arm of course, Sai turned to Sakura.

"Ugly" he nodded his head " It's unusual to see you her."

"Hi Sai. Well we didn't have much time to catch up, so I thought why not visit Ino while she's off work"

"So it doesn't have anything to do with Shikamaru being all grumpy and actually working to avoid talking to anyone?"

At this, Sakura stilled. Ino smacked Sai's hand and he smiled at Sakura "Ah, I thought so"

After that, silence feel over them until Sakura got up and headed to hug her friend.

"Thanks Ino, I needed this. I'll be going now, I have a few things I want to do."

"You sure Forehed? You can stay if you'd like. You didn't even finish your tea" Ino hugged her back.

Sakura understand message behind her words. Ino wanted to know if Sakura was okay and if she wanted to hang around others a bit to get her mind off of things.

"Yes Pig, everything is fine. I'm working today and I want to go and get some herbs before my shift starts. And you know that the pharmacy is not that near when you're going from your house" They let go of eachother but Ino squeezed Sakura's hand.

"Whatever you say. But everyone know's that you'll be there at least an hour before your shift starts."

At this Sakura smiled sheepishly and bid her goodbye's to Sai before exiting Ino's house and heading for the pharmacy, feeling better and knowing that thighs will possibly end up okay in the end. And that is much better than what she felt when she got to Ino's place.

It was simple things that made Sakura happy, really. For example: going to pharmacy and finding out that herbs she was waiting for for weeks have arrived. Or kids greeting her on her way to hospital. Or work. Work made her feel extremely happy and fulfilled.

To many people it was quite strange. Why work? Isn't it nicer to relax somewhere rather than spend up to 16 hours (sometimes even more) rushing all over the place, occasionally listen to kids cry or people attacking you and demanding something be done abut the current situation that their loved one has found themselves in. That's something Sakura found really annoying and disrespectful as well. It's the same as attacking cashier for the prices at the store. Well something like that. But putting that aside, when she found herself cover with work all of her worries disappear. Mostly because they are pushed aside by others, but still. And there is nothing more rewarding than seeing people's smiling faces. In this world painted with dark colors of war, hurt and death, knowing that despite all that you made someone happy simply gives you hope. Sakura chuckled to herself slightly. Every time she's walking to her office at the hospital, thoughts like this enter her mind.

She froze mid-step on her journey and turned towards the room where all the poisons, potions and antidotes are held. That room is connected to the laboratory where all of the dangerous substances are as well. It was very secured part of the hospital. Arguably the most secure actually. Only Tsunade-sama, Shizune, Sakura and 2 more high positioned medics have an access to it. And something was wrong. There were traces of chakra signature that belonged to one of the medics that had an access to the room. She wasn't sensory type, but this was her floor. Her and Shizune's. It's only natural she would pick up on different chakra, even if it was a bug. And there was no need for anyone to be there. Since the room was at their floor, only Sakura and Shizune actually went in there. Slowly approaching, Sakura put her hand above the wall next to the door and let a bit of her chakra surge trough it. It was the only way to access the room. When Sakura pushed the door open and walked in, everything seemed normal.

That was until she saw a movement at the corner of her eye and quickly ducked under the fist coming her way. Dropping her files, she spun on her leg, trying to throw her opponent off balance. He jumped away, landing into fighting position. Sakura did the same, placing herself between the intruder and the door.

Choking sound caught her attention and that's when she saw it. Hakumi Tomuro, the medic who had access to the room, chocking on her own saliva and shaking furiously in the corner of the room. Wide eyed, Sakura looked her opponent, anger swelling inside of her.

"What have you done to her and what do you want. There is nowhere for you to go so I suggest you answer n o w!" Sakura growled at him.

"Me or her, choose."

Silence fell over them, until a few seconds later her opponent spoke up again.

"I can stand here all day or we could fight. But can you really fight in a cramped up space like this where if the wrong bottle is broken, we could all be dead in the matter of seconds. And I don't think she can wait that long." He crocked his head in the direction of the medic in the corner not breaking eye contact with Sakura. There was no mocking or triumph in his voice. It was calm and calculated.

He was right and she knew it. But she can't just let him go. Not when she doesn't have anything on him. He has that mask over his face that isa bit similar to Anbu, but not theirs. It doesn't belong to Anbu root either. Plain black with two slits for eyes and little holes where mouth is, enough for sound to go through and make what is said understandable, but impossible for voice to be recognized. On the other hand, the medic won't hold for long. It was obvious what she should do.

Sakura hissed. Damn it _._

Not taking her eyes of of her opponent, she jumped next to the lying medic. The moment Sakura moved away from the door, he was gone. Sakura jumped to the wall opposite to her and put her hand on the wall, triggering alarm that alerted other medics in the hospital that something was wrong, as well as the Hokage and shinobi who were responsible for keeping hospital safe. This was new mechanism that was installed not too long ago. There are special places in the hospital where invisible seals were placed in case of emergency or for opening really secured doors. Emergency ones every medic had to know.

Immediately she started examining her comrade. It was as she though, a deadly poison which worked extremely fast, attacking organs directly. Jumping to her feet once again, she ran to the opposite side of the room and took little bottle from the middle row with blueish liquid in it. Returning to the medic's side, Sakura quickly made her drink it.

As soon as the last drop was drank, 5 Anbu shinobi appeared in the room alongside Kakashi.

Kakashi was next to her in less than a second when he saw her kneeling next to horribly looking medic.

"Sakura, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Kakashi-sensei" Checked the pulse of the girl lying in front of her, she relaxed slightly when it ended up returning to normal. "There was a breach in security. Hakumi-chan was the intruders way in, but there was no way she would do it willingly. She is one that helped me out when Tsunade-sama had too much work to do. She's 10 years older than me, but she spends as much time as I do here. She was poisoned-" Sakura lost herself in thought for a moment, before she turned her head towards Kakashi "- it was fast acting poison that needs to be tended immediately but once cured, doesn't leave any problems behind. Poisoning her was to get me out of the way, without actually harming her. He-"

"- knew what he was doing" Kakashi finished for her, and she slowly nodded.

"He did indeed." Sakura looked back at the medic in front of her "This poison is really rear. It can't be found in many medical books. I have a really bad feeling about this, Kakasi-sensei."

* * *

 _So here you have it. It's maybe not anything special, but some real stuff is slowly building up._

 _Now the other things I wanted to say. First of all- **big thanks to the Red Reaper88, Kayna96, MyFandoms7 and Sandy Spade for reviewing! ** If it weren't for you, I would have probably abandoned this story because I felt horrible for not uploading for so long and honestly, I felt like a failure. When I get like that I usually tend to drop whatever I'm doing. It sometimes happens with school, but of course it's something that I pick back up. Stuff like this, not so much. So knowing that someone is actually reading and wanting to read more when not obligated to do it (like for example when you ask your friend to read it so he does and gives you comments and thoughts because that's what friends do) makes me so happy. Like someone is actually taking time to read and leave review on something I did. Your reviews really mean a lot. Thank you sou much._

 _I also want to thank everyone who read and followed my story. It motivated me a lot as well because when I almost forget about story, I get an e-mail that someone saved or liked this story._

 _That's all for the moment. I really hope you like this little... lets call it introduction to what is to come and thank you all once again. I promise I will talk to you soon. Leave a review letting me know what you think and if you have any thoughts on what might be happening, tho it might be a bit early for that. And I'm curious, do you think Sakura and Shika will resolve what they have quite easily, they are both smart and selfless after all. Or will it be a bumpy road despite it all._

 _Kisses_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello everyone and Happy New Year. 2018 has taught me so much and I'm ready to rock 2019. I hope you had fun celebrating the NYE. I won't write anything and let you read this long overdue chapter. Enjoy!_

 _Disclamer: I do not own Naruto.._

~x~

"Are you sure Sakura?"

"Yes Kaka-sensei. Nothing apart from one antidote was taken. I spent the last 3 hours here. I checked everything twice. Only one antidote was taken." Sakura bit the inside of her mouth, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Maybe you forgot something Sakura-san. There are a lot of substances here. Forgetting one or even a few is natural." One of the Anbu spoke up.

"I spend a lot of time in here. Most of these I made. There is no way I could possibly forget. It's like saying that Kakashi-sensei doesn't know Icha Icha Paradise by heart. It sounds ridiculous. But to be sure, Shizune will come here when she's done with the surgery and check again. She keeps track of this section, and everything I made I gave a report to her. This part is hers and the laboratory is mine. Otherwise, there would be too much files and this isn't something you could just put somewhere where it basically asks of you to take a look at it. Even putting it in this room is dangerous."

"Because we don't know that the thief knew what he was taking, right?"

"Well, maybe. From what I gathered he didn't look for long for it. Some deadly poisons were moved or touched. I would say he knew exactly what he was taking. An antidote for a virus that if not treated right, could be deadly. That antidote is also a base for making other antidotes as well. My guess is that he didn't know the components of it. That's the reason why it was taken, I think.

Also, he knew what poison to give Hakumi-chan in order to make me act immediately. Is she awake yet?" Sakura asked the Anbu men that stood in front of her.

"It was said that she should be waking up soon. No specific time was given."

Sakura put her chin between her pointer finger and thumb, staring at the floor. No one disturbed her thinking process, deciding to stay silent. It was her field of expertise. The problem was she couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Looks like you could use another set of brains here."

Looking up, the pink haired shinobi saw Shikaku Nara and Tsunade standing at the door. He looked as calm as ever, contrary to the Hokage, whose look could possibly kill you. Anger was seeping through every pore on her body.

"Leave" Tsunade barked, not taking eyes off Sakura. Under the gaze, Sakura was tempted to swallow uncomfortably. But the knowledge that her shishou would punch her to the other galaxy if she did that made her hold her ground and appear calm and collected.

"Not you Kakashi"

The elite jounin stopped in his tracks ant turned to them. Since Abnu shinobi were long gone, Tsunade preformed some hand seals, throwing soundproof barrier over them. After that, she went to the white table that was directly in the middle of the room, leaned on it and turned her attention back to Sakura once again. She appeared much calmer, so her voice wasn't as deadly as it was moments before.

"Is there any news?"

"Not much shishou. Only the antidote was taken. I assume that the thief knew exactly what he was looking for and that he has extremely big knowledge about this stuff. We keep the poison that he used only as a tool for experiments after all because the ingredients are so rear. Only a few people know it exists and even lesser number knows how it looks. And to think we go trough all the trouble of not labeling things here to avoid this..." Sakura sighed, her face showing visible defeat. She also couldn't help but have that sinking feeling because Shikamaru didn't show up. Were it not the Anbu thing, he would probably be the first to get here.

"It's okay Sakura. Who knows what could have been if you didn't catch at the very act. Maybe we would have found out when it was already too late. Do you have any idea why the antidote was taken?" Skikaku spoke calmly.

"It was luck I caught them here. As for the reason, I have no idea. Maybe they wanted to find a way around the antidote, to find out what it components were. After all, this is often used as a base component for more complex antidotes for many many things: a big number of viruses as well as a to reduce the effect of some drugs. There are million possibilities and I can't seem to narrow it down."

"I doubt it was just luck. Did the medic wake up yet?"

"No, she should soon though."

"And you don't think she did this willingly?"

"There is no way she would do something like that. No possible way."

"Sakura-" Kakashi started slowly "- I know she is your friend and that she helped you a lot of times. But there is even less possibility that someone in Anbu is a mole, but it appears to be the case."

"Kakashi-sensei.. I understand what you are saying, but from the bottom of my heart I believe that she didn't do it." Sakura's tone left no room for discussion.

Shikaku turned towards their Hokage, who was silently watching the exchange. "What do you think Hokage-sama?"

After a few silent moments, Tsunade got off the table and headed towards the door.

"I believe that Sakura is right, which opens another set of troubling questions: How did he know which medic apart from us had an access to this room. Or rather, how he even knew someone apart from us had an access. How did he get that information. How long did he follow Hakumi to know she was doing an afternoon shift , so if her chakra was sensed in some places where it usually isn't sensed, it won't be strange. That, luckily, didn't work. Good job Sakura.

How did he make her do all of this. She didn't have any signs of struggle on her body. And the worst, was it someone outside of the village who got in and if so, how many more are there and what are they after?" The moment Tsunade finished her sentence, the barrier broke and she stepped out the room and headed towards the elevator.

~x~

It's never easy seeing one of your close friends go trough something bad. It's visible from a distance that the events of today are eating Hakumi from the inside out. Looking at her just siting in the bad, looking out the window and being completely silent made Sakura's heart clench. Stretching her arm out, Sakura took Hakumi's and squeezed it tightly.

"It's not your fault" She said calmly once their eyes met.

"It is." Hakumi stated simply, squeezing her hand back.

"There was nothing you could do Hakumi-chan. I couldn't do anything and it was my responsibility to stop him. And no, even if you weren't there, my fighting style is too destructive for a small space like that. Please Haku-chan don't blame yourself. There are some things going on that I can't talk about right now and all I can say is that you were just in a wrong place at the wrong time."

The nurse's eyes saddened at pink haired kunoichi's words " You have it though, don't you. Gomene Sakura-chan, I'm acting selfish now. I'm just sad that even Yamanaka-san couldn't bring my memories forth. Or that the ones he could didn't help at all." Hakumi looked down at her hand, visibly feeling powerless.

"It could have been anyone. You let Inochi-san go over your memories which is really painful and dangerous. That was extremely brave and who knows- maybe some of your memories end up being really useful." Sakura smiled encouragingly, even if she knew that it's probably not true. Just seeing white walls as they walk to the poison and potion room is as good as nothing. "You must be tired, I'll let you rest now. " She bent down and gently hugged her friend. "And remember, it's not your fault"

"I'll try. Thank you Sakura" Hakumi said with appreciation lacing her voice. They broke the hug and Sakura smiled once more before leaving the room and heading towards Hokage tower in hopes of finding out some good news and secretly hoping to see a certain pineapple-haired ninja.

Knocking on the door, she waited for the 'come in' before entering. The only people in the room were Shikaku, Kakashi, Shizune and their fifth Hokage. To say that she wasn't disappointed and that her heart didn't sink a little would be a lie. She hoped that after all the fuss he would check up on her and put the anger aside, even just for a little bit. Obviously not. She didn't let it show on her face though. This was no time for her personal life to get the better of her. Locking eyes with her shishou, she stayed silent and waited for any news to be told. Knowing her Hokage as much as she did, Sakura knew that she was debating something in her head. Room stayed silent for some time.

"Sakura" Hokage finally said, but with audible caution in her voice "your ANBU test will be postponed until the later date"

Maintaining the eye contact, Sakura's eyes bulged in shock. "W-Why?" she chocked out.

"I cannot let you join Anbu under these circumstances. Hospital and medical related things are obviously stuff they are after and until we know what exactly they are planing, letting you join is basically offering them jackpot." Tension in the room was growing with every second. Everyone knew that when those two put something to mind they don't give up and unfortunately, they were on the opposite sides at the moment.

"Tsunade-sama, I have always respected your orders and decisions, but this one doesn't make sense." Sakura spoke slowly, with respect lacing her voice but fire in her eyes "Word spreads fast and if we have a mole, there is a high probability it's already known that I will be joining Anbu if I pass the test. Us backing out now will raise suspicion and there is high possibility they will become more careful. This slip-up today is the only lead we have apart from the report on the attack from Shikamaru's team, which I didn't get to read yet by the way" She sent Tsunade the stink eye "We may not know their actions, but that's precisely the reason why we should have all hands on deck. I have a few ideas actually on how to get closer to everyone on Anbu without raising any suspicion."

Tsunade eyed Sakura for any signs of uncertainty " I know you are smart Sakura, and a quick thinker, but I'm offering you on a golden plate if I let you join now. As much as it pains me to say it, village at the moment is not safe as it should be and you won't be protected at all times. Now, I know you are strong, but there will always be someone stronger than you in life and ,at the moment, we are not aware of their strength and number. And before you say anything, let me remind you of your status in Konoha and outside of it. You are a medical prodigy Sakura. Medical ninja of the highest calibre, with knowledge rivaling if not surpassing mine. Someone like you cannot be lost. The only reason I thought of letting you even join Anbu is because I didn't want to turn your strength into weakness and something that slows you down, like I didn't do with Naruto and Kyuubi by locking him in the village. But do not mistake my willingness to let you fly with stupidity and imprudence. Your hands save lives Sakura and with this new technique, that only you can preform, any life could be saved as long as the person has the slightest heartbeat, no matter how deep in the grave they are. You can heal hundreds and even thousands on the battle field at the same time. There is a reason medics are rare and so respected. You excel in knowledge when it comes to poisons as well. Now tell me, do you think that someone with those type of abilities should be endangered?" Cocking her head to the side, Tsunade raised an eyebrow waiting for pink haired ninja's reply.

Sakura stayed silent for a while, contemplating her Hokage's words. There was a big truth to them. Not that she thought that her life was more valuable than someone else's but she did hold a life of many people on the deathbeds in her hands. Knowing her shishou's medical abilities, she would put a lot of mind into allowing her to risk her life. But than again, her life was not more valuable. "Shishou, I do understand your words. But, you were participating in the war even despite of having such extensive medical knowledge. We are talking about our village here. There are so many innocent people. This is our _home_. I became ninja to protect it and to protect people in it. If I back down in front of the enemy and don't do anything now- I'm going against everything I believe in and have worked for. Please Tsunade-sama, don't make me live with the consequences of not joining and not doing everything in my power to protect those I care about."

Eyeing Sakura again, Tsunade signed. She has become so stubborn. But a fine shinobi and she couldn't be more proud. "Fine Sakura, have it your way than. You are dismissed until tomorrow. Shikaku will go through your ideas together with you until Shikamaru comes back from his mission. Shizune- send a message to Shikamaru telling him to wrap up his mission as soon as possible." She pinched the bridge of her nose" I should have declined his request for a mission."

At this Sakura stopped for a second. _Shikamaru requested a mission?_ Why would he do that. Is he really that angry at her. She didn't know how to feel about it. It made her feel a bit at ease because maybe if he was in the village he would have came. But than again, him requesting a mission is not something commonly seen and is a reason for concern.

"Sakura.." Tsunade's questioning voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Raising her eyebrow, she continued "You are dismissed."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama" Quickly turning around, Sakura left the room but with no intention of going home.

"Hokage-sama, you need to stop testing the girl so much. It's obvious she is determined to join Anbu black ops, there is no need to put her in an awkward situations as much." Shikaku chuckled. Lacing her fingers together and resting her elbows on the table, Tsunade smirked as she looked at the closed door. She did make a hellafine shinobi.

On the other hand, this did not sit right with Kakashi. Not one bit.

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed! I'll talk to you soon, Kisses_


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